Countdown to Increase in Aged Care Fees

The current residential aged care system rewards residents who are able to move to an aged care facility and rent the former home in order to help pay their daily accommodation payment (DAP). Depending of how the family structure their finances, it is possible to ensure that the rental income does not count towards the aged care means tested fee calculation.

This loophole is closing on 1 January 2016.

The good news is that existing age care residents will not be affected because their current arrangements will be grandfathered.

This means those people who are considering entering care may pay a lower means tested fee if they sign a permanent contract with a facility before 1 January 2016. We believe this may lead to a spike in admissions over the coming weeks. This comes in the season that has historically been the busiest entry period due to the many family reunions that occur over the Christmas period.

The time it takes to undertaken an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) assessment, find a suitable facility and seek financial advice is likely to be 4-6 weeks minimum. To find an aged care home in your area we recommend searching the ‘Find A Service’ section within the Commonwealth Government’s myagedcare website.

If you or a family member are considering entering residential aged care and would like to understand if this change will affect your family please call our office on 1300 659 677.